Orchestra names architecture firm for Fruitville Road facility

The planned Sarasota Orchestra Music Center now has an architect. The orchestra’s board of directors has approved the selection of William Rawn Associates of Boston to design to new facility at 5701 Fruitville Road. 

The Orchestra closed on its $14 million, 32-acre site just west of I-75 in April 2023.

Founded in 1983, William Rawn Associates is one of the country’s top architectural firms with a portfolio of facilities spanning arts and culture, urban and affordable housing, higher education and more. Notable projects include the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Seiji Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood, which was named “Second Best American Concert Hall built in the last 50 Years” and “13th Best Concert Hall in the World” by Leo Beranek’s Concert Halls and Opera Houses.

Rawn will lead the overarching direction and visual appeal planning for the Music Center during the initial design stages. Once the design has been determined, the executive architect, HKS, will then lead the transformation from design plans to completion. 

Courtesy photo

“We are thrilled for the opportunity to design Sarasota Orchestra’s Music Center and to create a community destination that is a true reflection of the region’s cultural landscape,” said Rawn Associates principal and lead designer Cliff Gayley in a news release. “We also look forward to collaborating with the other project partners and building on the great work they have already begun.”

The Orchestra is planning an 1,800-seat main performance hall, a 700-seat flexible space for chamber music and special events, multiple rehearsal rooms, reception area for donor functions and community events, administrative offices and more.

“They have a really excellent and proven record with concert halls and recital spaces,” Sarasota Orchestra President and CEO Joe McKenna told the Observer. “The other piece which was really compelling is their work on with educational spaces. The Linde Music Center at Tanglewood is a big education space, and our project vision really embodies both performance and education. Rawn’s experience in both music education and concert halls really made them a really good fit for us.”

A preliminary construction estimate will accompany Rawn’s conceptual design, which will allow the Orchestra to begin work on a capital campaign for the project. McKenna estimates that design in the first quarter of 2025. 

In addition to architects Rawn and HKS, the Orchestra has partnered with acoustician and theatre planner Stages Consultants of Highland Park, New Jersey. McKenna said the Orchestra is currently working to hire a landscape architect, a critical cost element given the size of the site.